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Grand Canyon (Pennsylvania's) and Back

terham

BeemerBoy
I wanted to see PennsylvaniaÔÇÖs Northern Tier and visit the Grand Canyon of PA. I waited for SaturdayÔÇÖs 5 inch rainfall to end and left Sunday. I took the R1100S since it has heated grips and an outlet for my heated jacket so I put on the saddlebags, loaded up and took off Sunday morning.

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Day 1.
I left about 8am and took I476 north and I81 to get north quickly. A little north of here is the Lehigh Tunnel that goes through a tall ridge. The weather is often cooler, foggier, snowier etc on the other side of the tunnel.

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I came out the other end to windier, cooler weather and stopped at the first rest stop to hook up the electrics. I took I81 to the Lakeside exit and headed west on PA706. It got cloudier as I went north and I hit showers around Scranton and heavier showers in Montrose.

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PA706 ends in Wyalusing where I picked up PA6 and headed west.

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I went through lots of small towns that had a lot of nice old Victorian homes. I liked Towanda, Mansfield and Wellsboro among several. PA6 is a scenic road and a good way to make time across northern PA. Traffic was pretty light so I made good time.

In Wellsboro I turned south for the Grand Canyon.

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Although itÔÇÖs not THE Grand Canyon, itÔÇÖs pretty spectacular. Most of the leaves are down but it was still worth the trip.

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I decided to head for Lyman Run SP south of Galeton for the evening.

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It was a scenic ride to the SP and I was the only camper. As I pulled in an icy rain started to fall so I set up quickly and soon the rain stopped. The forecast was a low of 25 and I was hoping for no snow. I actually had a nice evening with a warm fire watching nighttime fall.

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Nice pictures Terence! I was out to the grand canyon (PA) last summer. It was a little warmer than 25 degrees. Glad you enjoyed the ride. Route 6 is a great ride.
 
Day 2

The overnight forecast was a low of 25 with a heavy frost. I think the forecast was accurate. :lol Ice in your water bottle in your tent is never a good sign.:laugh

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It took me a while to get started due to the cold but I hit the road around 10:30 and headed back to PA6.

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There's a nice stretch west of Coudersport.

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I went as far west as East Smethport and headed south on PA46. ThatÔÇÖs a fun road and as I went south there was more color and leaves left on the trees.

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In Emporium I picked up my favorite road of this trip ÔÇô PA120, the Bucktail Trail. It follows Sinnemahoning Cr for mile after mile. I had read of this road on the ADVrider site for great river roads. It snakes along as it changes elevation and was a blast to ride.

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In Hyner, I took the winding road up to Hyner View ÔÇô well worth the trip.

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The view is very nice.

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I wouldÔÇÖve liked to have stayed around and watched these guys take off...

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...down this ramp...

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...but I took off instead to finish riding the road into Loch Haven.

I turned south in Loch Haven and headed for Black Moshannon SP for the evening.

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Day 3

Black Moshannon was very crowdedtwo other campers. I was up early to the sound of geese and broke camp.

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I hope my map makes it one more day.

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With the sun up I left around 8:30.

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Toured the SP a little and then headed off on PA504 down to the valley.

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I took PA144 south through Bellafonte. Thats a pretty town that Id like to spend some time in. PA45 took me east

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where I picked up my second favorite road of the trip, PA235 and headed south. The ridges in this part of the state run SW to NE, so any road that goes N/S tends to run over a series of ups and downs as you go over each ridge. This was no exception.

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I took a rest stop and checked the oil level. Even with 12K miles, I still have to add oil regularly.

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The road ended at the Susquehanna and I had planned on taking the Millersburg ferry. You swing the gate to call the ferry and then wait.

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And wait...

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Unfortunately, I found out the ferry wasnÔÇÖt in service.

Pretty sobering to see the high water marks.

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I headed south to a more modern crossing on PA22/322 to get on the home side of the river.

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Along PA895...

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Up and over Hawk Mtn.

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I was home by 3:30 and had done 800 miles over the three days. No high mileage days, but I think I saw a lot. I certainly enjoyed myself and would love to go back and ride the Millersburg ferry, PA235 and PA120 again.

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More pics http://terham.smugmug.com/gallery/3743059#215140423
 
Great report. I've spent a couple of days just NW of Smethport in the Bradford area last year.. Wonderful riding.. Hope to go back next year..
 
Never knew there was such a canyon.
Thanks for a great report and pictures.
Bravo - you are a hardy camper my friend.
 
Bravo

Thouroughly enjoyed the views!!!! I grew up in Lancaster, you really did the area right with your pictures. Great job:clap Oh, nice bike!!!
 
What a neat ride report. :clap :clap And great pictures, too. Did you pack any cook gear, or were your meals mostly in restaurants? What a neat area to visit. I used to fish at Black Moshanon SP, and also visited Pine Creek at least once a year. Nice to see those areas again! Thanks.
 
Hey Terrance,

Great ride report.. I've never been to the Canyon but I think it's a destination us NY boys need to explore soon.
 
Awesome ride and report! I'm envious. You hit some nice areas of the state. And I'm envious of your cool (cold) weather camping grit, too. Nice job and great pics. :wave
 
What a neat ride report. :clap :clap And great pictures, too. Did you pack any cook gear, or were your meals mostly in restaurants? What a neat area to visit. I used to fish at Black Moshanon SP, and also visited Pine Creek at least once a year. Nice to see those areas again! Thanks.

I backpack a bit so I take a lot of my backpacking equipment. I carry a whisper lite stove and a fuel bottle that's small and works well. I approached this as a backpacking trip on a motorcycle. I'd rather ride than stop for meals so I carry cheese, nuts and snacks and eat a little throughout the day. Oh, and poptarts for breakfast. For simplicity I did freeze dried this trip. I can highly recommend the chili mac.

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Hey Terrance,

Great ride report.. I've never been to the Canyon but I think it's a destination us NY boys need to explore soon.

Absolutely, it's well worth the trip. PA6 is a nice mix of rural with cool towns to stop in. The scenery's great with lots of interesting side roads.
 
Great report. Thanks for taking the time to post it. My wife and I were through there in August and had a wonderful ride. I always knew PA had mountains, but I was pleasantly surprised with how beautiful the area is. :bikes
 
Terrence, spectacular journey and report! Ever since I drove a bit of Western-Central PA on my way home from the National, I've wanted to return to and explore the state in more detail. Thank you for presenting and inspiring. :thumb
 
Great area, nice write up. Can't wait to see the pics.

Pics are great, too. Thanks for sharing!
 
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